


I still can't feel my face, what am I smokin' anyway

by newbensolo



Category: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: (it's Dennis), Alternate Universe - High School, Eventual Relationships, M/M, Recreational Drug Use, Trans Male Character, Underage Drinking, non explicit masturbation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-16
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-08-15 08:38:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8049595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/newbensolo/pseuds/newbensolo
Summary: that highschool macdennis au with trans!dennis because i just love trans dennis.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> the title is from Frank Ocean's Novacane

Dennis meets Mac at his party. His parents were gone and Dee just wanted to move up the social ladder like he had, so as soon as their parents had driven off the door opened and music blared. People crowded through the door and congested each room, but Dennis was assured in his own abilities to control anything that happened.

It's one keg stand, four beers, and five mustard covered slices of ham stuck to the ceiling that he decides he's too drunk to care. He can't be held accountable if he's wasted. He stumbles through the kitchen, chips littering the counter, and nearly stumbles on the people sitting along the wall. The amount of his disgusting peers of both sides of the social scale who are attempting to swallow each other make his stomach twist. He only gets through by leaning a hand on the wall. He drags it as he continues on, ignoring the frames that twist and fall.

The door to the backyard is a relief. When he breathes in the cool air it's almost like his lungs are burning. The difference between the stuffy smoke filled rooms and here is stark. He sees someone sitting in the grass and his eyebrow lifts, he makes a noise and stumbles over.

He puts his hand on the stranger's shoulder to both steady himself and get his attention. The air is knocked from his lungs as he's shoved down. He sits up on his elbows, his anger burning in his stomach. "What the fuck, asshole? I don't even fucking know you!"

He can't see his face. Or really anything, it's dark as shit out here. He's in a leather jacket and looks too big for him, it's almost cute. Dennis watches him lift a burning joint up and take a hit, the exhale of smoke swirling into the sky. The guy speaks, "Well, don't fucking touch me then you drunk piece of shit."

The words make Dennis' jaw clench tight, his eyebrows pull together and he wants to show guy who he's talking to. "This is my goddamn party, dickhead, you know what fuck you. You can fucking leave, man."

He's sitting up with his shoulders bunched up. The stranger looks at him, his face twisted with some emotion Dennis doesn't care to read. There are drunk muddled thoughts clouding his anger with comments on the stranger's pretty face. He grits his teeth, and watches him expectantly. The weirdo gives in, "Hey look, I'm sorry man. Here -" He holds out his joint, -"Take a hit."

Dennis cocks his head, eyeing it before reaching a hand out. His drunk reflexes make him miss, the laugh at that act makes him angry again. He goes to try again but the joint is already pressed to his lips. The taste of it making his head spin, he inhales as deeply as he can. His lips brush against the fingers and he feels a flash of heat before they're taken away. He exhales and coughs harshly.

"I'm Mac."

"Dennis." He says back, and he slides down into the grass. His arms under his head. He watches Mac from under his eyelashes and soaks in this attention of being oogled. He smirks and decides to mess with Mac again. His eyes opening slow like a cat. "You know, I don't remember inviting you to my party."

His grin widens as Mac fumbles for words. The nauseated cloud in his stomach pushed away as with Mac's embarrassment on the forefront. There's a sudden smile on his face that piques his interest. He speaks, pride in his voice, "I'm the weed guy, I'm invited to every party."

The dark eyes are watching his reaction intently, he only laughs. "You're in my backyard _alone_. It looks like you're just an asshole who crashes every party." He finishes and hears Dee  squawking from inside, and rolls his eyes.

"Hey!" He's hurt. His proud idea of himself shattered by Dennis' words, Dennis is a stranger to him but he still holds power over him. He feels like there could be something good here for him. He's grasping for some defense when he speaks again. "I wouldn't be stuck here alone if Charlie hadn't gotten freaked out by the size of your house."

Dennis makes a confused face and Mac quickly adds, "Charlie is my best bro, been that way since we were kids." 

The words makes his eye twitch, partially at the fact that his new interest already has a clear companion and because the only person he's been close to for longer than a school year is Dee. He turns on his side and pats the grass beside him. He's a little surprised when Mac lays down. A smirk threatening to break out. 

They lay less than a foot apart, Mac flat on his back as Dennis watches him with heavy eyes. He asks him a few friendly questions before he ends up passing out. 

 

* * *

 

Dennis wakes up with the sky still dark and cold water spurting in his face. He moans in pain, spluttering as water assaults him. He stands on shaky legs; his knees threatening to buckle while he wipes his face. He feels something slide off him and he spins to look and is overcome with nausea. He lurches forward, headache sending his stomach up his throat. His eyesight stops swimming and he sees the scuffed leather jacket on the grass. He squints at it. It looks too cheap to belong to any of his friends. It floods back to him, the drug dealing stranger. Dennis picks it up, looking at it with mild distaste.  _Mac._

He smiles at the reminder, and searches the pockets. He pulls out a small baggie and drops it in his pocket. He slides the jacket over his shoulders, and starts walking to the house. He's gotta wake Dee up so she can start cleaning up. As he steps inside his nose wrinkles. Damn, she's got a lot to do.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had these first two chapters in my notebook for over a month so that's why it's so fast, I'm working on chapter three but I can't promise anything. I hope you enjoy it.

    At lunch Dennis goes out to the rundown shed behind the football field where people had told him Mac usually was. There's no grass at least ten feet from the building and old equipment is half buried in dirt. He turns the corner with the unease from going in blind. He sees Mac collapsed against the rusting wall; there's a line of smoke floating up to the sky.

He drags his feet through the dirt to make his presence know, and Mac whips his head around in surprise. His joint poised behind his back, shoulders tight, until he realizes it's not a teacher. He relaxes with an exhale of smoke. Dennis stops a few feet away. 

"Hey, Mac, right?" He asks, voice coming from his chest, with a cheap smile on his face. He knows exactly what his name is, knows his real name too. But, he thinks, it's always better not to seem eager with fresh prey. He's got his eyes on Mac as the perfect guard dog. 

Mac's got a disappointed expression as he nods. His feet shuffle as he leans back on the shed. He doesn't look up as he speaks, "You got my jacket, dude?" 

Dennis grinds his teeth, sucking in air through the space, but not replying. He looks at the sky and watches the clouds float by. He looks back when Mac clears his throat. He's staring at him with confusion. He takes a step towards Dennis, "Are you alright, bro?" 

He lets the warm feeling burn through his veins and grins, "Actually, I don't." He laughs, "I left it at my house." 

"Oh, alright," He replies. Mac takes a hit. He looks  at the grass and runs a hand through his greasy hair. There's an awkward space when Dennis doesn't leave or say anything else. He watches Mac shift uncomfortably, he eyes him from the side. He cocks his head with a growing smile, "You wanna smoke?" 

"Yeah!" Dennis bounces on the balls of his feet and walks up to him. Mac passes the dwindling joint and slides down the wall. Dennis follows suit, squatting as he takes a hit.  His cheeks are blown out as he holds in the smoke and passes it back to Mac with a long release of smoke. His smoke rings fail and he tries to play it off as Mac laughs. Somehow, as the the weed disappears Dennis starts talking about the morning after the party. Mac finds the avoidance of work by method of Dee extra hilarious, or maybe he's just stoned as shit. Dennis finds it pretty funny too though. 

Something clicks in his head and Mac stops laughing. "Oh shit! Dude your sister is _the aluminum monster_?"

Dennis feels like ice has been sent rushing through his veins, his smile wooden with too many teeth. "Yeah, but you'd know a lot about nicknames, huh, Ronny?" His voice as a deliberate edge of anger. 

He watches with slitted eyes as Mac stops laughing. He puffs up his chest, mouth opening to defend himself but he rethinks it. He locks eyes with Dennis but shutters them away. "You just don't really look like siblings, you know," He mumbles. He glances up at Dennis from his hair. 

Dennis relaxes with an easy grin and shrugs his shoulders. He slides a hand into his pants pocket and toys with the baggie. He pulls it out and dangles it in Mac's face. His red eyes stare blankly at it. It clicks, his eyes widen, he gropes for it. "Hey! That's mine!"

"You left it at my house so it's mine now," Dennis teases, his hand over his head. 

"C'mon, dude," Mac's eyebrows draw up, his tone bordering on a plea. Dennis is flooded with a rush of power, this interaction is going better than he thought. He didn't think he would already have so much sway over him. He's half thinking as he leans into Mac's space. He smirks at the surprise on his face and blows on the dark bangs in Mac's face. He drops the baggie in Mac's lap.

Mac's mouth opens as he looks down at his lap and Dennis is closer when he looks up. He looks caught between fleeing and leaning back. His eyes frantic to find something other than Dennis. Dennis is leaning in when someone turns the corner of the shed.

They're already talking loud, Dennis looks with annoyance as Mac kicks backwards and away. He almost falls flat on his back. It's a kid in torn up clothes, miscellaneous stains at the cuffs of his jacket. He pauses when he realizes Mac's not alone. He's mid-step with mistrust wafting off of him. Dennis isn't sure if he likes that.

"Mac?" He calls. 

"Uh, yeah, Charlie?" Mac's voice is shaking. Dennis takes in Charlie again with his identity confirmed.

Charlie stands with his hands on his hips, face expectant, "Who - who the fuck is this?" He gestures at Dennis. 

Mac is steady when he replies. "Oh! This is Dennis!" His hand comes up almost to pat his shoulder before it goes back down. There's a half hearted laugh behind his words, "He, uh, threw that party this weekend, man. The one you chickened out of." 

The explanation brings his attention back to Dennis, his eyes squinted as he assesses him. Dennis puts on his most charming smile and tries to figure out what the expression on his face means. He looks away and decides to respond to Mac's insult. "Dude, houses that big are made to trap people! They've probably got a room to skin people in there." 

Dennis frowns, offended. He cuts Mac off. "No one skins people because their house is big, you cretin," He hisses.

He pulls his knees to his chest, sulking when Charlie ignores him. He changes the subject to something Dennis doesn't understand and comes to sit with them. He's on Mac's right, making them look like a fucked up triangle. He sits watching them interact; Mac looks unburdened as he calls something badass and does shitty fake karate with his arms only. 

Eventually, Mac gets out the baggie and some papers and begins to roll a new joint. Dennis zones out staring at his hands. There's a joint waving in his face that startles him from his thoughts. He takes it; the taste of weed on his tongue almost making him gag. He takes a few more hits, but he let's the other guys finish it off.

The bell for the next period rings, neither of them move. The air is relaxed, Charlie is still an erratic ball, but Dennis is focused on the clouds. They seem bigger, fluffier in his stoned mindset. He's missing out on math class right now. He'll have to borrow the meager notes his friends took. He has no doubt that he can sweet talk Maureen into lending him hers. He wonders if she'll have put his lovingly name in the margins, and he bursts out laughing. Mac and Charlie look at him, but he waves them off. They continue their conversation.

There's a resounding emptiness in his chest now, and he reaches for his keys in his pocket. He estimates that it's almost time for classes to end and Dee is going to need a ride home. The thought of her voice grates on him. He decides he'll wait out the rest of the day in his car. He stands on weak legs, stomach rumbling and mouth dry. He makes half ass goodbyes and ignores the kicked puppy look on Mac's face.

 

* * *

 

 

It's almost a full half hour later when Dee opens the door to the Range Rover. She's a squeaking and grumbling as she tries to force herself into the seat, it makes irritation crawl across his skin. He hates that she's always making noise. She's so starved for attention that it's screaming in every breath, the way she has to blurt every goddamn thought in her bird brain. She's just got her seat belt buckled when he snaps. 

"Goddammit, Dee, will you shut the hell up!" He shouts, his voice changing pitch against his will. He hates that she doesn't even react beyond glancing at him uninterestedly. He puts the key in the ignition, pulling out of the parking space. 

She pauses when they've left the school grounds, the silence a relief. Of course she ruins it. 

"Heyyy, Dennis," She's got a careful edge in her voice. It's got his shoulders squaring and his defenses up, his hands white knuckle on the wheel. He sighs with his eyes on the stop lights.

"Yes, Dee?" He's exhausted from the pot, not eating, and keeping a tight reign on his self control.

"Do you, like," she stops and changes to almost a whisper, "have any tampons?"

He can feel her worried eyes on him, probably darting back and forth for some sign of explosion. Instead, he relaxes. His shoulders roll back and he nods his head back to where his bag is in the back seat. "Yeah, there's some- probably under all my shit." He waves it off, nonchalantly, "I'll just get more later, but seriously Dee- you know you need to be more prepared, not depending on me all the time -"

 He takes the time at the next red light to look at her; she's trying to recline the seat, and he scoffs. Of course she doesn't pay attention to him. He agrees with Mac, for twins he feels doubtful that they're similar in any way. He would think if he had a clearly smarter, more social savvy brother he would listen to whatever advice he was given. 

* * *

 

They get home and he leaves her to get out with the usual warning to not mess up his car. He heads into the empty house, their parents still on their weekend bender. He beelines for the stairs and heads to his room. He looks behind him at his door and see the trail of dirt from his shoes; he can't find anything in his that cares. They have a maid for a reason. His room is a mess. The carpeted floor is only shown in patches through the later of clothes and papers. It all crunches beneath his feet as he makes his way to his bed. 

He flops onto the bed, his bed springs squeaking. His eyes land on the jacket. It's hanging on his closet door, and he heaves a sigh and cranes his neck. He's glaring at it, which is ridiculous, it's a piece of clothing. He looks to his door, Dee is probably inside now doing something stupid. Still, he doesn't trust in her ability to knock or have any basic manners. 

He peels himself off his bed and locks his door. He walks over trash until he's at his closet and then he starts to strip. He stops at his boxer briefs that have ridden too high on his hips. He opens the door; the hanging mirror inside showing his stark reflection. He winces at the puffy pink scars on his chest. Remnants of his thirteen year old self loathing where he looked up the procedure in medical books and the tried to do it himself. 

Dee had left him to it and by the time she'd come to herself he'd done enough damage that the hospital had to finish the job. Luckily, his nips were still left in perfect condition.

He breaks the train of thought and grabs the jacket off the back of the door. He slides his arms into it and imagines how Mac would look at him. He's already in deep, his hopes high for this. He's got his claws sunken in and won't let go until he takes everything. Dennis thinks about how easily he could take it all, how he could have Mac worshipping like he deserves.

Somewhere in his thoughts his hand creeps beneath his underwear and he watches himself in the mirror, euphoria is rushing through his blood and he buries his nose in the jacket. His own heavy breathing mingling with the fantasy that's built up in his head. He's going straight up to the thought of Mac's face between his thighs, and Dennis decides that he'll be worshipped no matter how long it takes. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please kudos or comment if you like it! ( comments feed my soul)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the quickest I've ever updated a fanfic! thanks to an eager anon on Tumblr who reminded me to work on it!

Dennis meets with Maureen before school starts and it happens to be a stubborn day for her. Her feelings on him being poisoned by her bitchy friends until she's close to snapping. With a few well placed pet names and finally a hand on the small of her back she caves, but he's stuck listening to her complain until the notes are safely in his hands. He's played pretend well enough that she smiles, forcing his eyes to her dead tooth and he barely keeps from grimacing. His warmth fades in an instant and he detachs from her. He's already at the next set of lockers when she calls out. 

"Wait, Dennis!" Her desperate voice shaking around his name. He grits his teeth as he turns with a strained smile. Her appeal has faded in a faster moment than it had returned. 

He swallows his irritation, "Yes?" 

"Where'd you get that jacket?" She croaks out, and he looks down with a smothered grin. He looks up with a shrug; he's unwilling to share any part of this new thing he's formed with Mac. 

He turns on his heel and pretends he doesn't hear any of her other words. 

* * *

 

Walking to class, Dennis notices the way his eyes have started scanning the masses. His gaze passes over the bodies in the hall and his heart pounds with every flash of short brown hair though none of it belongs to Mac. He tries to quash any thought that's not calculated or self serving on the topic of his new acquaintance, but still he gets to his first block with a definite punch of disappointment between his ribs. 

A quarter of the way through the lecture there's a pounding on the door. Dennis doesn't bother to look away from the slowly moving clock hands, his body feeling too light and empty. He's surprised the driving asshole bothered to pause for the interruption in the first place. The door clicks open and the gravely voice goes for snark, " Ronald, how nice of you to join us." 

There's a mumble, before a defiant voice strikes out. "It's Mac."

"Well, _Mac_ , I'm glad you decided to participate in what? Your third attendance to this class." 

Dennis feels likes he's been snapped back into himself as he darts his eyes over to the front of the classroom. He locks eyes with a red faced Mac, his mouth open to snap something back at the teacher. He shuts his mouth though and sends his a resentful glare instead as he's urged to his seat in the back of the room. He walks passed Dennis on his way, and he cranes his neck to beam at Mac. 

Refraining from looking back despite the itch at his skin, Dennis tries to remember seeing him in here before. He attributes part of it to Mac's frequent ditching but it still worries him. He wonders if ignoring him in the past could affect his plan to gain his friendship and their current connection. He casts a glance to the back of a room; Mac is distracted with a pen. He twirls it between his fingers, eyebrows drawn together before he shrugs and shoves it in his mouth. He finally looks up, and smiles with the pen trapped between his teeth. Dennis nods at him and looks away. 

* * *

 

Dennis takes his time putting his stuff away at the end of class.  He sees Mac saunter over from his peripheral vision and speeds up fractionally. He looks over as he's slinging a strap over his shoulder. He heads for the door, "Hey, man."

"Heyyy," Mac stretches out the lettering carefully. Dennis stops in the door with narrowed eyes. He continues, "You're, uh, wearing my jacket, bro." 

He looks down with feigned surprise, feeling the leather on his chest. "Oh? I sure am," He cocks his head with a grin, "You want it back or something?" 

He's pushing his limit he knows but there's a voice in his head telling him not to bend just yet. A girl clears her throat, and he moves into the hallway giving her a crazed look as she passes. Mac's eyes are trailing over him and his ears are turning pink, " Nah, l mean this look is really working for you bro, so you can just give it back later." 

In the hall Mac nearly walks into an open locker and he pretends not to notice. His bluff worked out better than he imagine and he decides now is a good place to end this interaction, "Cool. Thanks, man."

He claps a hand onto Mac's shoulder before heading to his next class. Mac catches up to him, "Hey, I gotta go drop some-" his voice lowers, "some _stuff_ off to a few people, if you wanna come along?" 

Shocked, Dennis opens his mouth. He closes it and clears his throat, focusing on speaking from his chest to keep his voice from slipping. "Yeah!" He agrees, "And we can take my Range Rover."

He can't help but boast about his car, it's easily the best one in the shitty school parking lot. He sees Mac's eyes widen, but he quickly recovers. He's almost vibrating with energy as he speaks, "Alright man, let's go."

They make their way to the back parking lot with no trouble. Every teacher's eyes seem to glide over Mac like he's not even there, he's already labelled as a lost cause. Dennis has an admirable reputation so they don't do anything above raising an eyebrow. 

When they're finally settled in his car, a key in the ignition, there's a sharp rap at the window. They both jump in their seats, Dennis semi relaxes at the sight of the snotty nosed rando pressed to his window. Mac rolls the window down and shoves the kid back with his elbow in the opening.  

"What do you want?" He looks back at Dennis with a exaggerated eyeroll to which he grins in reply. He fixed the intruder with a cold stare though.  

He's got a thin, reedy voice, "I was wondering if you could front me-" 

Mac interrupts, "Look, dickhead, I don't give shit out for free. I'm not saint Francis."

The reference has Dennis'eyebrows raising. The kid tries again, whining, "But-" 

"Get out of here, douchebag!" Mac shouts, his elbow jamming under the guys ribs with how close he is and he gasps and stumbles into the car beside them. He rolls his window up and Dennis hurries to put the car into gear and pull out. There's a squeal as they speed out of the lot.

This newly exposed viciousness in Mac has increased his interest tenfold. He only imagined him for a pretty idiot but there's a common bit of violence between them. He feels giddy when he looks at Mac. They're pulled up to a stop sign, and Mac is leaned over on his side of the car; the closeness feels easy and warm. "So where to?" He asks.

He turns in his seat to fully take in Mac's sprawled out body. "Uhh, take a left and I'll tell you the rest from there." 

The sun isn't even fully overhead and they're bathed in soft orange light; his hair shining with it. He can't help but feel like they're both glowing in their own bubble. Dennis' eyes catch on the crucifix that hangs from Mac's neck. While he's staring Mac looks up at him with a smile. He makes the turn. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmu on Tumblr ( my URL changed) godlyweapon.tumblr.com or leave your comments and concrit here!  
> (transphobic people will be ridiculed eternally)  
> also if you're reading and think wow? why isn't this about Dennis' angst over being trans? or think it should be a more stereotypical depiction of a trans male character, please leave. There will be dysphoria mentions later on, but Dennis is still Dennis this is not changed based on his non cis status.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my life is a clusterfuck im sorry

Dennis stops going to class. He spends more than half of every week ditching half way through or not going at all. He's already growing accustomed to the sound or Dee's squawking nag each time he dumps her at the red painted curb. He figures after a few weeks of ignoring her failed attempts to cut beneath his skin she'll stop. Her beak shaped nose will turn up and away from him in anger.  He pulls onto the school street and can already hear her take a breath. 

"Don't bother, Deandra, I'm not going to tell you." He says in shameless jest. 

"Fuck you, Dennis," Her body jerks forward as he breaks hard. She starts again as she climbs out of the car, "I don't even care what losery bullshit you're getting up to anyway. You probably just go sit in a library trying to trap a poor college girl into fucking you." 

He laughs at her and lets her slam the door with her measly ounce of malice. He watches the pitiful masses drag themselves into the run down, worn out buildings to let the useless information go in one ear and out the other. Of course, he's been spending his days with Mac and Charlie, bouncing from Charlie's basement to under a bridge or in a back alley. Though he's never fully been alone with Charlie there's less tension between them now. It doesn't matter the venue really it's always the same gig of smoking weed and huffing their paper bag of glue.

Today, though, as he set out for the Mac residence he's got a different plan in mind. His mother had dropped by the past weekend and left behind her half bottle of Percocet as she hurried out to her next island adventure. He'd already taken one this morning. Now, he was riding his blue tinged swirl of nothing but light, he could attest it was a magical drug indeed. He couldn't wait to surprise Mac with it. The thought of that dingy, too wide smile stretched out for Dennis was better than the pill he'd swallowed.  Even if Charlie wasn't particularly interested the promise of free drugs would be the necessary hook.

As he pulls up in front of the Mac house he sees a giant hulk of a man exiting. His shoulders hunched with hands in his pockets. Dennis squints, trying to figure out who the giant freak could be when he looks up. The greasy long hair is swung out of his face and his stony eyes meet Dennis'. A jet of alarm and fear is shot through him. He has to fight the hard ingrained instinct to cower, to pull in on himself to take up less space. Instead, he stares back until the mop of hair falls back into the pimply face. Once the behemoth has rounded the corner he honks twice in petulant succession. Mac comes in a flurry, his shirt unbuttoned and a cigarette burning precariously between his lips. Dennis feels his stomach revolting at the sight. 

Dennis is impatient in the time it takes for Mac to get to the Range Rover. It ultimately took less than thirty seconds, but his foot taps on the gas with anger simmering beneath his skin.  The door swings open and Mac grins at him. He settles himself and casts himself a glance, hands tightening around the steering wheel. He gives a grimace in place of a smile before reaching out to pull the cigarette from his mouth. He drags on it, sucking smoke to burn his lungs. "Button your shirt, American gigolo." He sneers, the smoke swirling out with his words. 

Mac makes a face, but buttons it half way. He rolls down the window and lets his arm hang out as Dennis starts the car. They head for Charlie's. As they pull onto Charlie's street Dennis breaches the silence. He goes for the illusion of calm. "So who was that guy I saw leaving your house?" 

He fights the urge to watch for a react and focuses instead on not missing the tacky residence of his friend. Mac hesitates for a dragging moment before he exclaims, "Oh! You mean Psycho Pete? He's my bro, Charlie and I used to hang with him all the time before he left and then we met you!" He pauses. Dennis can practically hear the thoughtful expression. "You know we should all totally hang out, we could be a like a gang the four of us."

Dennis lifts his eyebrows and vaguely nods, refraining from speech as he pulls up. He skates over the expectant expression Mac gives him. "Go get Charlie," He says. He watches Mac falter before nodding. He's halfway out the door when Dennis leans across the seats. "Hey, Mac!"

 The speed he turns is almost cartoonish if not for the hopeful glint in his eye. Dennis almost feels guilty. "Make sure Charlie is clean enough not to leave a mess in the car, ok? Last time I had to have it professionally cleaned to get the smell out." 

Mac looks down, almost under his breath he replies, "Sure thing, Dennis."

Dennis watches him until he is hidden behind the front door. He lets out a sigh and rests his forehead on the steering wheel. His eyes closed as he tries to rein himself in.

* * *

 

Mac and Charlie are raving about Psycho Pete as they walk into Dennis' house. The entire car ride had annoyingly enough been centered around the guy. They seem to worship him at a level that sparked significant jealously in Dennis. In short, his nerves were shot, and he was ready to snap. If the day continued like this he would have no choice but to kill them and swallow the remaining pain pills himself. He smirks as he imagines Dee trying to out do him on that.  

Still, there's an impressive silence that comes as the pair takes in their location. Dennis almost beams with pride. The weekly presence of a maid keeps the house in good shape. The high ceilings and the fractured light that comes from the glass windows even allow Dennis to understand how Charlie could get such a foreboding feeling from the place, but he knows personally the only thing really scary about the house is how utterly devoid of life it feels. Only after the party had torn through its meticulous decoration and left behind a wreck had it seemed a little less suffocatingly fake. He turns on his heel, a vicious smile on his face, and pulls the pill bottle out of his pocket. It rattles as he spreads his arms out to bathe in their awe, "Impressive right?"

"Yeah, dude," Mac agrees while nodding. He turns in a circle to take it all in, blowing out a huff of air. He turns back to face Dennis and quirks an eyebrow towards the pills in his hand. "So are we gonna get fucked up?"

Dennis looks from Mac to Charlie and tries to ignore his disappointment. "Of course let's just-"

He can't finish because all of a sudden the front door is being slammed shut and Dee's voice is covering his. Charlie flinches and looks ready to bolt while Mac has tried to hide behind Dennis. Dee walks into the foyer and sees them. "So you've been ditching me to hang out with Dirtgrub and Ronnie the Rat? Really, Dennis, I never thought you would sink this low." She cackles, her brace squeaking as she moves. "You know what! I can see it actually."

"Dee what the hell are you doing here? Did you get laughed out of class again?" Dennis bites back, trying to put away the pills before she can see them. Mac comes out from behind him while Charlie still looks on edge and he keeps looking back and forth between Dee and Dennis like he doesn't trust either of them.

She crosses her arms as much as she can, and her mouth opens but no words come out. She just rolls her eyes at him. He smirks. "No one wants you at school and no one here wants you either. Just go somewhere."

He can almost see her frustration turn into a boil and steam out of her ears. He shakes his head at her with a pitiful smile. He walks over to her and places his hand on her shoulder. He soaks his voice in sickly sweetness as he tries to reason with her, "See, Sweet Dee, you should just go back to school and hang out with that fat chick."

In all his self-assured speech he realizes as Dee turns her face to the hand on her shoulder that he hadn't actually put the pills in his pocket like he'd meant to. He feels a tsunami wave of both self-loathing and rage flood his every cell as he watches Dee's expression switches to the toothy snarl she likes to call a smile. He clenches his teeth and hears his jaw creak. He can't make himself to turn back to Mac looking like such an idiot. "Ohhh, brother dear," She says in a singsong, "Would those happen to be Mom's? I bet she'd be happy to know you found them. Unless, of course, you were planning to keep them and truly fall down the delinquent rabbit hole?"

"Do you have a point, Deandra?" He growls. He yanks his hand from her shoulder like he's been burned. She rocks on the balls of her feet and steps closer to him. "Well, De-" She stops short, eyes flying toward Mac and Charlie. "Dennis, if you want to keep this quiet you're gonna have to let me join your gang." He debates briefly if choking her would be worth the trouble. He meets her eyes and gives her his most hell fire stare, but she doesn't even blink. Her satisfied smirk staying put on her face. 

 Dennis turns finally to face Mac and finds his own resentment reflected back. The brown eyes soften when they meet his. The moment breaks when Charlie bursts into motion. He lets out a long groan. "Are we doing drugs or what man? This house is still creeping me out."

Laughing, Dennis turns back to Dee and gives her a tight smile. "Sure thing, Charlie. Let's get this show on the road."

* * *

 

Dennis realizes that he has greatly underestimated the strength of Percocet about the time that he goes to get a beer and finds his legs feeling like they're stuck in cement. Charlie has been lost to a pile of throw pillows for almost an hour, Dee had broken free of her back brace and was currently moshing to their mother's Elvis record. And for Mac, well Dennis wasn't too sure where Mac was but when his legs wanted to work again he planned to find out. He just has to remember what muscles he needs to move first. 

With a few slaps, his mind starts to clear enough that he can get off the couch. His only objective being to find Mac now. He feels that feeling burning up from his gut and all the way to his throat while he wanders his house. He meets the foot of the stairs as he stomach drops out to splatter on the wood floors. He grabs the hand rail as tight as he can and throws himself forward. He manages to get to the landing before he has to lean on the wall, his head is swimming, and he's torn between trying to go back down or finishing the job. In the end, he steels himself and propels upwards with enough energy to make it to the second floor. He's checked the entire lower level but not found a sign of Mac. Now, he sees his bedroom door left open and feels pleasure unravel inside him. A new warm motivation envelopes him as he creeps towards the room. He's too high to string together any real game plan, but when he shoves in through the doorway the sight of Mac stretched out in his bed takes whatever was left and throws it off the roof. 

He's got a real emotion pound in his chest. It strikes him heavier than Maureen had with her clumsy flirtations. Dennis gets a wave of nausea thinking about the smell of her hair and the feel of her hand in his. He's got a new itch. He stumbles to his bed with a smirk. Mac stares up at him with wide eyes. His mouth falls open as Dennis collapses down in the empty space beside him. 

 Mac doesn't get a chance to voice whatever complaint is sitting on his tongue because Dennis's mouth covers his with no preamble. His eyes staring wide at Dennis's closed lids. He uses his surprise to explain why he doesn't push him away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmu my tumblr is godlyweapon

**Author's Note:**

> my Tumblr is denniscistem if ya wanna come talk to me about these dorks!


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